Arizona orders immigration law training for police

Arizona orders immigration law training for police

Tue Jun 12, 2012 9:56pm EDT

PHOENIX (Reuters) - Arizona Governor Jan Brewer on Tuesday ordered the redistribution of materials to train police to enforce the state's tough immigration crackdown, in a sign that she expects the Supreme Court to endorse the measure in coming days.

Signed by Brewer in April 2010, the law sought to drive illegal immigrants out of Arizona, although most of it was blocked by a federal judge before it came into effect.

The U.S. Supreme Court began hearing arguments in the state's appeal in April and is expected to issue a ruling before the end of the month.

Among measures enjoined in a preliminary injunction was one requiring police to check the immigration status of anyone detained and suspected of being in the country illegally.

Brewer ordered the redistribution of training materials explaining which documents police "can use to determine whether identification presented to them is sufficient to presume a person is not an unlawfully present alien."

Supporters of the state's crackdown say it is needed as President Barack Obama's administration has failed to secure the state's porous border with Mexico.

Critics have said the Arizona law, known as SB 1070, could lead to ethnic and racial profiling of Hispanics in the state, and government lawyers argue that it interferes with federal powers on immigration.

At an oral hearing in late April, conservative justices who hold a majority on the Supreme Court appeared to endorse the crackdown.

In the event that the Supreme Court rules for Arizona, Brewer also ordered the board to send out training DVDs and materials "with an explanation of any specific guidance" provided by the court.

Arizona orders immigration law training for police | Reuters

Ariz. governor wants police ready for immigration law ruling

By Alia Beard Rau and JJ Hensley, The Arizona RepublicUpdated 52m ago

PHOENIX - The U.S. Supreme Court could rule as early as Monday on the future of Arizona's controversial immigration law Senate Bill 1070, and Gov. Jan Brewer wants to make sure law enforcement is ready.

Brewer on Tuesday issued an executive order requiring the Arizona Peace Officer Standards and Training Board to redistribute to all law enforcement agencies by Friday a training video originally sent out when the law passed two years ago.

"The governor is optimistic that the heart of SB 1070 will be upheld and implemented," Brewer spokesman Matthew Benson said. "The governor thought this was an appropriate time to revisit the issue and make sure Arizona law enforcement is as prepared as possible for partial or full implementation of the law."

SB 1070, among other things, makes it a state crime to be in the country illegally and requires an officer engaged in a lawful stop, detention or arrest to, when practical, ask about a person's legal status when reasonable suspicion exists that the person is in the U.S. illegally.

Federal courts halted that part and four other key parts of the law from being enforced. Brewer appealed to the Supreme Court to allow the entire law to go into effect.

Standards and training board director Lyle Mann said no one knows what the Supreme Court will decide, but he believes Brewer's goal is to assure every law enforcement agency is prepared for whatever decision the court makes.

Once the Supreme Court rules, the standards and training board will distribute supplemental information to law enforcement explaining which additional parts of the law, if any, now go into effect and any additional court requirements.

The court could, among numerous options, declare that parts of the law will go into effect immediately or it could send the issue back to a lower court, delaying implementation by days or weeks.

"Until the court says something, any kind of question about what are we going to do and when is basically a hypothetical," Mann said.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/...wer/55572124/1